Thanksgiving 2013: A Day in Pictures

So you know those bloggers who post beautiful, color-corrected, photo-shopped, perfectly lit pictures, every one of which could be the photo that came in the frame?

I’m not them.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I give you Thanksgiving, 2013: A Day in Perfectly Imperfect Pictures.

First, there was the Brownie Escapade of ’13. It wasn’t pretty. It was funny, but it wasn’t pretty.

Then there was an escape from the action … in Ooma’s walker.

Then there was Ooma love. This is my soon-to-be 94 year-old Grandma. (On the left, without the pink hair.) Isn’t she beautiful?

Love smush!

And then there was this. I don’t have words big enough for this. For how blessed we are by family who gets it. For how my little one glows in the light of their love. For how at ease she was — they all were. For how beautiful it was to witness … all day long. This might be my favorite picture ever …

Or maybe this one …

But, wait, there’s more!

No, they don’t slice, dice, cut soda cans and then tomatoes, but …

At dinner, Brooke announced that the cousins would be “going into the bed” together. Everyone was a little confused, but she had a plan. You see, my kid doesn’t forget anything. Ever. And years ago (like a LOT of years ago), when we were all together at my aunt’s house, the cousins had all pig-piled in Ooma’s bed. And well, if it happened once, it must happen always. So it is written, so shall it be done. Or something like that.

Ooma has since moved out of my aunt’s house and there’s no longer a bed in what used to be her room, but such details do not deter my kid. So, without as much as a raised eyebrow, Katie and the cousins followed Brooke upstairs to smush together on the couch that, once covered with a blanket, she said was a bed. Yup.

And they did THIS.

At the end of the day, there was so very much to be grateful for. But this — this is what I will remember most. Not just tolerance, but acceptance. Not just accommodation, but celebration. Not just patience, but joy. Not a sense of obligation, but LOVE.

And for that and so much more, I am grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends. I hope it was a good one for you and yours.

Huge thanks, once again to Auntie Marilyn and Uncle Julie for welcoming us into their home and their hearts. I’m so glad we’re family.

This was my wall post last night…
One last Thankful post. I am so SO grateful to be surrounded by a family that gets my girl. A family that loves her and accepts her for the awesome person she is. A family that looks beyond the challenges her Autism presents, and sees her humanity. Sees her beautiful soul. Sees that she is seeking the same connections we all crave, in her own way. A family that knows how to make her laugh. A family that is joyful to see the amazing progress she’s made, and believes in her ability. Not focusing on what she can’t do, but reveling right along side us at everything she can, and will do. That, to me, is the greatest gift of all.

This is beautiful. I love how Katie looks at Brooke during the going to the bed photo. It is so full of emotion–including the “OMG, another script” emotion. And yet there is this tenderness about the look too. This “damn, I love my sister” in her eyes as Katie frolicks in the pleasure of it all. (And it looks to me like she is “snoring” too, which is exactly what my son would do in this scenario!) They are all good eggs, cousins included!

I like photos where you can see what you would have seen if you where standing right there looking at the same scene as the photo depicts. I dislike over-processed, unrealistic photos. Your candid shots are just fine the way they are.

P.S. I enjoy posting a lot of photos in the side-bar of my blog. I sure hope that you are not criticizing my photos. I hope that you enjoy my style of amateur photography.